She's A Rainbow...

[empirelvr]

I used to love colored vinyl til I read that it sounds worse then black vinyl. Since then if I have the option to choose between the two I go for black.

A myth, especially if the colored record's vinyl is translucent. Opaque colored vinyl (like the Dave Mason one pictured above) can be noisy because it can contain fillers and other additives that are used in black vinyl. But, all other things being equal, translucent colored discs have to use pure virgin vinyl so they almost always sound *better* than their black counterparts. I find them much quieter with little surface noise compared to "regular" black vinyl.

 

[empirelvr]

Picture discs generally sound worse because most of them are made with a very thin layer of clear vinyl over a cardboard core.
Think EvaTone Soundsheets...if you're old enough to even remember those. However, I have a Linda Ronstadt "Living In The USA"
where the core is a very thin picture and the clear vinyl layer is quite thick. It's noise floor is only slightly higher than its black counterpart.

There's an Elvis Presley picture disc like that: A Legendary Performer-Elvis-Vol. 3. I was expecting the usual horrible sound when I bought it, but was very pleasantly surprised by how good it was.

 

[krisjay]

My Pioneer PL-44FS, does not like colored vinyl, the tonearm will not engage with colored vinyl on the deck, shame because alot of my vinyl is colored. I have to use a different turntable for the colored stuff.

 

[Soren Hammer]

B&O were very smart and thought about the coloured LP problem when constructing their linear tracking turntables with auto-sensing system. The light beam will light the pattern of the platter up, making a specific frequency that prohibits arm setdown. Even clear records won't engage the safety mechanism.

 

[zenith2134]

I read about the picture discs sounding worse, never played one however. closest thing i got is an Atreyu LP in gray(what a terrible group!)
Someone mentioned EvaTone soundsheets-when I was learning guitar I had a book that contained one. At the time I couldnt even play it! No LP spinner.

 

[Balifly]

My Pioneer PL-44FS, does not like colored vinyl, the tonearm will not engage with colored vinyl on the deck, shame because alot of my vinyl is colored. I have to use a different turntable for the colored stuff.

Try cutting a piece of black/dark color paper in the shape of the album and place it under the album.

 

[PickyEars81]

This is one of my favorites

 

[haffy111]

I got the latest Alice in Chains record last week (came out in 2009 or 2010 though). It's titled "Black Gives Way to Blue" and both of its LP's are clear.

I was very surprised to see clear LP's...................that's new to me, although I'm sure they've been around for awhile. It looks interesting watching my ortofon cartridge interact with the clear records.

Clear is cool.

 

[RebelKat]

SWEET!! I have a bunch of those, and some others: couple of Roxette 45's on bright yellow, the Proclaimers on green, those Beatle singles on all different colors... Most are in storage, though so no cool pics from me.
Totally nice bunch of records ya got there!

 

[RebelKat]

Picture discs generally sound worse because most of them are made with a very thin layer of clear vinyl over a cardboard core.
Think EvaTone Soundsheets...if you're old enough to even remember those. However, I have a Linda Ronstadt "Living In The USA"
where the core is a very thin picture and the clear vinyl layer is quite thick. It's noise floor is only slightly higher than its black counterpart.

Not always the case....Take the new pressings of Ozzy's Blizzard and Diary on picturedisc. Just got 'em from POPmarket (go look!) and they sound AMAZING. The background is so quiet it's astounding. The music seems to leap out of the grooves.

 

[Dan ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ]

I stated there were exceptions. The pictured Ronstadt disc sounds quite nice.

 

[RebelKat]

Yes, you did. Just giving another example.

 

[kirk57]

I have 7 Bowie Rykodisk re-issues, and they are all clear. The thing I don't like about them is it's hard (read: impossible) to see dirt/hair on them.

they do LOOK cool though.

I have that No Wave LP too, Dan. same color

 

[Sandy G]

He's a Runner...Blood, Sweat & Tears...Check it out on YouTube..

 

[drknstrmyknight]

I've got a box set of the first 45's released and at the time the records were color coded based on their genre. I'll see if can dig them out for a pic.

 

[Dan ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ]

I've got a box set of the first 45's released and at the time the records were color coded based on their genre. I'll see if can dig them out for a pic.

Yes, RCA did that. I always thought it was so cool too.

 

[Clean&Tight]

Black (coloration of the biscuits) was universally adopted as it masks any visible flaws in the disc, whether they were relevant to sound or not. There's a cost consideration as well but that's another discussion.

The record industry realized that consumers were likely to return a disc if they could see a "defect" in the pressing, dark specks etc, even if entombed well below the playing surface.

In the early days much experimentation was done with various coloring, notably with label identification in mind.

So black it was. I actually have a few "colored" 78s.

Most everyone is familiar with the RCA/Victor 45rpm series of Classical titles, all done in dark red, back when the format was new and competitive with the still lingering 78.

Novelty and picture discs are another category/discussion as well. Quite a few of these were never really intended for constant rotation as another poster has pointed out.

You want to hear some good colored vinyl? Try the "Yellow Submarine Songtrack" Lp, UK pressing on yellow vinyl.

EXCELLENT sound quality! :yes:

One of the best sounding modern era Beatles albums I've heard. One of the best sounding Beatles albums period, actually.

Thomas

 

[Dan ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ]

You want to hear some good colored vinyl? Try the "Yellow Submarine Songtrack" Lp, UK pressing on yellow vinyl. EXCELLENT sound quality! :yes:

One of the best sounding modern era Beatles albums I've heard. One of the best sounding Beatles albums period, actually.

Thomas

A-yup...

 

[cfinchrist]

I find it hard to see the true condition of a lightly colored record. With black it is obvious.

 

[Clean&Tight]

A-yup...

That record has given me much joy and at the same time much frustration.

Why can't they do a job like that on the entire catalog?

The 2009 re-masterings on CD are good to very good at times, but to my ears in no way live up to the hype. Better, yes, but nothing to write home about. I've got a few first pressing Lps, post reverb Capitols that are on par with the '09 re-issues, believe it or not. ("Rubber Soul" forward)

I bought the MONO Box, to have them. Probably won't be around long enough or have the coin to accumulate them all in MONO on early Parlophones.

Thomas